I'm currently reading Chained to the Desk and it's truly eye-opening. There are quite a few posters in this thread (and the orignial writer of the article) that probably should give it a read. What is referred to by most here as type A personality, Robinson calls work-aholics. In other words, addicted to work - and not necessarily gainful employment. He calls it the best dressed addiction. The basic inability to be still and not doing something productive - volunteering, contract work, "projects" (a workaholic would not view reading on the sun deck as productive). There is an anxiety some people feel when they're not scheduled every minute. This is probably why they fail at slowing down, for not addressing this compulsive need they have to fill their lives with "doing".